when I was a wee tyke from PA visiting maternal Mississippi relatives, a truck driver pulled into my uncle's service station and asked if we had "modall". Not having any idea what this might be, I went inside to my uncle and repeated exactly what I heard. Uncle Buddy handed me a bottle of Shell 10w-30 and thus my bilatitudinal education began...

This reminds me of my Georgia raised grandfather when he would say to a stray dog that wandered into the yard, "Gitonouttaheah!" through his nose. This was the first time I realized he was not from these parts of California and the first time I realized there was such a thing as being southern.

Huny- glad to be here in these parts...

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compaired to what lies inside us." R.W.E.

I've heard the same thing from my Alabama-raised grandfather in Oregon.Pretty effective word...

Thank you, skinem. My hiatus was due to the bustle of the Christmas season. Being in - how should I say this- the diamond "export" business can be demanding during that time of year.

I know what you mean. When Grandpa started talking through his his nose in a southern accent, he meant business. And when he said, "gitonouttaheah", we all ran...But his,ahem, bark was bigger that his bite.

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compaired to what lies inside us." R.W.E.